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Each program in the Impact! series puts the spotlight on the songs that have left an indelible mark on the world. Besides setting the scene for the release of the song, the programs feature the song`s creator(s) and explore its cultural impact and the ways that it changed the course of history. Guests include recording artists, music industry executives, cultural and political pundits and the music fans themselves for whom these songs became their life`s soundtrack
By any definition, Walk This Way, written by Aerosmith s Steve Tyler and Joe Perry, was your classic rock track. With its hooky guitar riffs and brazen, in-your-face vocal delivery, in the mid 70s, it was the song that set Aerosmith on the road to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; but little could the group have known that it would have a second life a decade later. On its release in 1986, Walk This Way became the original rap/heavy metal video crossover song. Run DMC was the bridge between old-school artists like Grandmaster Flash and the modern rap era. To quote Rolling Stone magazine, they sparked a movement in popular music with an impact similar to the British invasion in the early 60s. With their gold chains and Adidas, they were the first rappers to earn gold, platinum, and multi-platinum albums; the first to have their videos played on MTV; the first to appear on American Bandstand; and the first to grace the cover of Rolling Stone and the first non-athletes to endorse Adidas products. Run DMC brought rap to mainstream America. It wasn t long before hip-hop style and fashion from the street had started to be seen in the stores of suburban shopping malls. Run DMC had a very recognizable look and it started catching on. To this day, the popularity of products associated with the hip-hop culture is not only exclusive to African-American youth. The style and the music have crossed both race and color lines, not only in America, but also around the world.
Run DMC